Various and Sundry

There are two new arrivals at our house (both inanimate, praise the gods).  The first is a bamboo bread box:

outside of the bamboo bread box

bread box with 3-day-old Trader Joe's rosemary bread that is STILL soft!

Believe it or not, I awoke one recent morning thinking about bread boxes and wondered why people don't use them anymore.  The best answer David and I could come up with is that they put so many preservatives and crap into bread these days that they are no longer necessary.  I mean, why would you need one to keep Wonder Bread fresh when it has a shelf life of 28 years.  (Yes, I guess that is hyperbole.  David says I use hyperbole more often than necessary.)  Well I looked up bread boxes online and discovered that putting bread in the refrigerator actually dries it out faster than if you just leave it on the counter.  AND bread boxes keep bread fresher longer.  So, since I love to make my own bread (no Wonder Bread in this house, thank you very much), nothing would do but that I procure a bread box immediately.  This one is bamboo and boasts that it is naturally antimicrobial and made of 100% organic bamboo.  Sounded good to me.  Also, the price sounded pretty good - $29, plus shipping.  It was supposed to arrive right around Thanksgiving, which it did not.  I contacted the company 5 days later and was kind of whiney about it.  They apologized and said, "How about no shipping charges?"  Good customer service is what I said.  So it arrived a couple of days ago and it really works.  That rosemary bread is usually hard as a rock after 2 days.  It is still lovely.  Big happies.

Here's what arrived today:

The Whispermill!

Ooooooh, aaaaaaaahhhhh!!!  I've been wanting one of these for a long time.  It's so wonderful to grind your own flour.  And to celebrate, I mixed up some of these:

Gingerbread Scones

Tasty out of the oven, but even better the next morning.  I'll let them sleep in the bread box overnight and have one (or 3) for breakfast tomorrow.  I know you want to make some of your own, so here is the recipe:  (If anyone knows how to put this in a little box with a "PRINT" button, would you please tell me how?  I saw that on someone's blog, but I can't remember whose and I thought it was pretty cool)

Gingerbread Scones
2 c. flour
3 T. brown sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. ginger
1/2 t. cloves
1/2 t. allspice
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. butter
1 egg, separated
1/3 c. molasses
1/4 c. milk
sugar for sprinkling
In a large bowl, combine the first nine ingredients.  Cut in butter with a pastry cutter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Make a well in the center.  In a small bowl, stir together egg yolk, molasses and milk.  Add all at once to the center of the flour mixture.  Stir with a fork until combined.  Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for 10-12 strokes or until nearly smooth.  Pat dough into a circle; cut into 8 wedges.  Beat egg white until frothy; brush over tops of scones and sprinkle with sugar.  Bake on an ungreased baking sheet at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes.  Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes before serving.

Now, here are some things that happened when I made these.  I added a 1/2 c. of currants.  And after I put them in the oven I thought, "Oh, a little orange or lemon zest would have been good."  But, too late.  File that away for next time.  Also, the original recipe says that the dough may be a little stiff after adding the wet ingredients.  Ha!  So sticky when I turned it out onto the board, I had to add about 1/2 c. of flour.  Also, I put the dough onto the cookie sheet and then pressed it into a circle instead of trying to lift the circle off the board.

I have to go now because the scones are whispering that they would be a lovely bedtime snack and I am inclined to agree...